Wasted Days and Idol Nights

Today was one of those days.  I had absolutely no ambition or desire to do anything other than wake up, putz around a little bit and then go back to sleep.  Winter blues? YES.  I seem to get them every year.  My friend Maggie and I call that the Big Blue Monster.  Now, of course, that I have the energy and desire to sit here and talk at you (Yeh, I know...how much energy does THAT take? shuttup) the new season of American Idol is about to start.  I usually look forward to the audition shows every year but this year I am tuning in just to see what kind of a train wreck the show wiil be without Paula and with Simon in his new "restrained" capacity! 

After looking at the 10 songs for tonight, I have a feeling there will be more chair dancing and some vanquishing of the Big Blue Monster (can you tell I was watching Charmed all day?).  Here they are folks, todays 10 songs.....

(click to enbiggen)

1. Sharing The Night Together - Dr. Hook 2:53 (Capitol Records) I have to admit I had forgotten about this song.  The opening of the song reminded me of Afternoon Delight.  Then comes that unmistakable voice of the good Doctor, kinda thick, a little murky and, in the context of this song....a bit on the smarmy side!  So, basically, here is this guy in a bar, checking out "da ladies" and he picks out this poor girl and starts hitting on her.  Asking if he can sit next to her, dance with her, he asks if he can hold her all leading up to the inevitable title question.  Kinda a bit creepy if you ask me and, Doc, a bit of advice for ya, if you haven't gotten an answer after asking the same question over and over again for almost 3 minutes...LET IT GO!  Move on.  Here I'll show you how.....(cues up the next record)

2. Laughter In The Rain - Neil Sedaka 2:50 (The Rocket Record Company) Oh man, those first piano notes and I am sucked back in time.  This is another one of those perfectly produced pop songs.  Amazing string and horn arrangement, just enough background singing to not take away from the lead vocal and the lyrics are perfect.  At least for me, I can actually see everything he is saying. "I feel the warmth of her hhaaAANnd in mine"  I love that swoop up and back down on "hand"!  Great song! He is still working and singing his heart out.  Check out his website.

(Ok, quick Idol break.  BRB  talk amongst yourselves)

AI - WOW Wait, I can say that better....WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!
That first poor, unfortunate girl.  She really should have shaved before the audition!  Best part of it was when she whacked her girl friend in the head.

3. Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson 2:52 (Columbia Records) What can I say? An amazing song and everytime I hear it I am reminded of our family vacations.  Getting up at the crack of dawn, packing the car on a clear, crisp summer morning, (you know the kind that even though it is only 5am and it is still kind of cool outside you can tell it is going to be hot as hell later) having 77WABC playing on the radio and my gigantic Winnie-The-Pooh seat belted between Steven and me as we head over the Verrazano Bridge.Then looking out the back window as the sun is coming up behind us.......outstanding and indellible memories. God, I love how music can do this to me and I love my family for creating such perfect memories. 

AI - Ok, Idol is over and I can get back to business here.  But first.....I won't comment on the forced tomfoolery. cause that would be a BOOK!  I will tell you my two favorites.  Matty, the waiter from NY, 22 and outstanding!  The last girl, Leah, INCREDIBLE! Of course, the biggest freak of the night with the huge, long black hair and perfectly manicured facial hair and silver lame vest is from Reading, PA!  They are everywhere out here.  One last thought, when did Victoria go from Posh to Scary-Ass Spice?  Is it just me or is she looking a bit like a preyingmantis?

4. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Robert John 2:36 (Atlantic Records) An amazing remake of a really fun song. The tuba solo in the middle is outstanding and, unless I am completely off the mark here, something that was not normally heard in a pop song.  I can just imagine everyone having a party in the studio the day they recorded this.

5. Honey - Bobby Goldsboro 3:58 (United Artists Records) Ok, get out the Kleenex for this one.....cueing it up and....well, let's see if this effects me the way it always used to. Oh, well, I forgot about the chorus of angels that make their presence known right in the beginning. Angel chorus aside, this is such an incredible song and I am the biggest, stoopidist mush in the world. Of course, I am crying like a fool.  LOL For those that don't know this song, it is a young man telling us about his wife, Honey, who passed away at a very young age.  The combination of a beautifully crafted lyric and Bobby Goldsboro's perfect, clean, smooth voice would tug at the heart strings of the toughest person out there.  Favorite line in the song, "She was always young at heart, kinda dumb and kinda smart, and I loved her so." You can almost feel the pride this man had for his wife that the aforementioned angels came and took away. (And let me tell you, she must have put up quite a fight cause there are HUNDREDS of angels in this particular chorus)  The analogy of the tree that is planted in the beginning of the song is genious.  Life is so fragile yet we can leave something behind that will last forever.  Ok, I am done.  (blowing my nose and cueing up the next record.  shuttup  it's allergies)

6. Half-Breed - Cher 2:42 (MCA Records) LOL  Sorry the tom-toms in the begining always make me laugh.  Amazing song, and hey, it is CHER.  What can be said.  Although, it is amazing, now at 400 years old, I can finally understand how so many kids that grew up feeling like an outsider, like myself, could relate to this song without even realizing why.  Good on you Cher! And thank you!  Strap yourselves in for the next one.....

7. Paradise By The Dashboard Lights - Meatloaf 5:25 (Epic Records) I know, I know, it was played to death but I love this song.  I used to DJ in a bar, the Happy Hour, in Toms River, NJ, in a retirement community (sound weird to you?  Well, it was just the natural progression in every aspiring DJ's career.  shuttup) Anywho, I used to love to play this because there was always a woman in the crowd that wanted to get up and sing this with me.  She would spend the beginning of the song working her way through the crowd with her walker.....NO!  Kidding!! She was not a senior, but someone that turned out to be a good friend back then and we were the hit of every Saturday night!  Good times!  I used to love when Nan, Uncle Bob, Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Sal would come out and support me.  And then there was that night that Nan got drunk.....ahhhh sweet memories.  By the way, I just noticed that the fat guy that lives downstairs from me shut his tv off and is singing along to this.  See?  The party goes on.

8. Salsoul Hustle - The Salsoul Orchestra 3:20 (Salsoul Records) Um....a little too much Salsouling for me there.  (the song just started) OH GOD!!!!  I am seeing the Fat Albert Kids on the Love Boat right now!!!  Unfortunately, it is not Isaac the bartender that I see with the big fro and platform shoes with the goldfisheez swimming around in them, it is DOC!!! I need help! Babut I will ba-cue-ba up-ba da next ba-record-ba now.

9. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - The Bee Gees 3:52 (Atco Records) I think this one was given to us. What an incredible song!!!! Pre-disco Bee Gees rock!!! They were and still are such oustanding songwriters and Barry Gibb and his sons have carried on the tradition of flawless production work. "How can a loser ever win?" By la-la-ing to the last chorus of the song, of course.  My animated brain just saw a group of alchoholics sitting in the basement of Tippler's Lounge at their weekly AA meeting, sitting on cases of beer and old kegs, joining hands and singing this song.  Let's all raise a pint to them! (Sorry)

10. Theme from Superman (Main Title) - The London Symphony Orchestra 2:58 (Warner Brothers Records) Oh man!!!  Super man!  Before I say a thing about the actual record....JOHN WILLIAMS IS A GENIOUS! When that orchestra crashes in the first time, the hair on my arms stands up, still!  I can remember coming out of the Alpine Theatre in Bay Ridge, after seeing this movie and walking across the overpass and looking out at the Verrazano Bridge at dusk and I swear I could see Christopher Reeve flying over that bridge.  One of THE best movie scores EVER!!!  Oh man, that last swell and CRASH of the orchestra....wow. (of course I dedicate this one to Annette!!!)

Well, that is a perfectly fitting way to end this blog.  I went from being a depressed slug to being that kid that actually believed in Superman! (cause you know I don't anymore.  You know that, right?  shuttup)  As I sit here and proofread this post, I am also thinking about all the things I did do today...a day that I thought I did nothing.  4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, made calls to stave off the bill collectors, talked to two of my favorite people, THE Lori Rome and Scott and got to spend some time with you!  All in all, not a bad day.  I can handle the blue monster with you guys around!  Have a great night.  See ya tomorrow.